mattpocock

42 skills in 4 repos, most starred first.

skills Skill collection

Skills for Real Engineers.

318,714 stars on GitHub, Nov 9, 2026 · 39 skills · 2 bundles

Engineering workflow
Bundle of 24 skills

Use it when:
You want the agent to agree with you on what to build before it codes, then build it in small tested steps.
It does:
Interviews you about a change, writes a spec and tickets on your issue tracker, builds each ticket test-first, then reviews the diff.

setup-matt-pocock-skills, ask-matt, grill-with-docs, grill-me, grilling, domain-modeling, research, handoff, prototype, wayfinder, chief-of-staff, to-spec, to-tickets, triage, implement, implement-spec, tdd, codebase-design, code-review, pr, diagnosing-bugs, retro, writing-for-agents, improve-codebase-architecture

Age
8 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.5M
#2
Weekly Downloads
41.3K
#3
Writing workflow
Bundle of 3 skills

Use it when:
You want to write an essay or article from your own ideas, with the agent as interviewer and editor.
It does:
First interviews you into a file of raw notes, then turns the notes into an article with you.

writing-fragments, writing-beats, writing-shape

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
528K
#32
Weekly Downloads
20.5K
#39
grill-me
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You have a plan or design you haven't fully thought through.
It does:
Starts the grilling skill: rounds of numbered questions, each with a recommended answer.

type:workflow effect:none needs:none interview planning requirements

Age
7 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.5M
#2
Weekly Downloads
41.3K
#3
grill-with-docs
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You want a plan or design stress-tested in a repo, with the terms and decisions written down as you go.
It does:
Questions you in numbered rounds until nothing is left assumed, updating the glossary and decision records as answers settle.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none interview domain-modeling docs-writing

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.3M
#4
Weekly Downloads
35.5K
#5
improve-codebase-architecture
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
A codebase has grown hard to change, test or find your way around, and you want to know where to restructure first.
It does:
Finds places where thin, tangled modules could become one deep module (lots of behavior behind a small interface), then designs the one you pick with you.

type:workflow effect:local needs:subagents architecture refactoring

Age
7 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.2M
#5
Weekly Downloads
33.7K
#9
tdd
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You want a feature or bug fix built test-first, or ask for red-green-refactor or integration tests.
It does:
Has you agree which public interfaces get tested, then loops: one failing test, then just enough code to pass it.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none tdd testing

Age
8 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.2M
#6
Weekly Downloads
32.9K
#11
setup-matt-pocock-skills
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You're about to use Matt Pocock's engineering skills in a repo for the first time.
It does:
Asks where your issues live, which status labels to use and where the glossary and decision records go, then writes it all down.

type:setup effect:local needs:none issue-tracking docs-writing

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.1M
#7
Weekly Downloads
30.5K
#20
handoff
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
The work has to move to another tool, another folder, a colleague or a side session.
It does:
Summarizes the conversation into one Markdown file a fresh agent can continue from.

type:command effect:local needs:none handoff

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.1M
#8
Weekly Downloads
32.4K
#12
grilling
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You have a plan, design or decision you haven't fully thought through.
It does:
Asks every question it can in numbered rounds, each with its recommended answer.

type:workflow effect:none needs:none interview planning requirements

Age
5 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.1M
#10
Weekly Downloads
40.7K
#4
prototype
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
A design question is hard to settle on paper: does this state model hold up, or what should this screen look like?
It does:
Builds throwaway code shaped by the question: a clickable logic demo, or several UI variants to flip between.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none prototyping

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.1M
#11
Weekly Downloads
30.6K
#18
triage
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
Issues and outside pull requests pile up on your tracker and you want help sorting them.
It does:
Gives each item two labels, a category (bug or enhancement) and a state such as needs-info, ready-for-agent or wontfix, and moves it along.

type:workflow effect:remote needs:issue-tracker issue-tracking code-review

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1.1M
#12
Weekly Downloads
28.2K
#25
domain-modeling
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You're pinning down what your project's business terms mean, editing its GLOSSARY.md, or recording a design decision.
It does:
Challenges vague or conflicting terms, tests them with edge cases and checks them against the code.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none domain-modeling docs-writing

Age
5 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
954K
#13
Weekly Downloads
33.6K
#10
codebase-design
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You're designing or reshaping a module's interface, deciding where code can be swapped out, or making it easier to test.
It does:
Gives the agent fixed terms and rules for deep modules: a lot of behaviour behind an interface that's quick to learn.

type:guidelines effect:none needs:none architecture

Age
5 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
930K
#14
Weekly Downloads
33.9K
#7
teach

Use it when:
You want to learn a topic, code or not, over several sessions rather than get a one-off explanation.
It does:
Turns the current folder into a course: asks why you're learning, gathers trusted sources and writes short lessons.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none learning

Age
5 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
930K
#15
Weekly Downloads
29.5K
#23
diagnosing-bugs
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
A bug is hard to pin down, or something got slower, and guessing at fixes isn't working.
It does:
First builds one fast command that fails on this exact bug, and forms no theory until that command exists.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none debugging performance

Age
5 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
909K
#16
Weekly Downloads
32K
#13
code-review
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You want a branch, PR or work in progress reviewed: everything since a commit, branch or tag you name.
It does:
Runs two reviews in parallel subagents: one against the repo's coding standards, one against the issue or spec.

type:workflow effect:none needs:subagents needs:issue-tracker code-review

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
869K
#17
Weekly Downloads
33.8K
#8
implement
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
A spec or ticket is ready and you want the agent to build it now, in this session.
It does:
Builds it test-first, type-checks as it goes, runs the full test suite, then reviews the result.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none implementation

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
843K
#18
Weekly Downloads
30.4K
#21
ask-matt
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You have Matt Pocock's skills installed and don't remember which one fits what you're doing.
It does:
Maps your situation onto one skill or a path through several, reading each skill before recommending it.

type:router effect:none needs:none skill-discovery

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
831K
#20
Weekly Downloads
27.8K
#27
wayfinder
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
An effort is too big and unclear for one session, like a new project or a huge feature.
It does:
Lists the open decisions as tickets on your issue tracker, then settles one ticket per session.

type:workflow effect:remote needs:issue-tracker needs:subagents planning issue-tracking

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
789K
#21
Weekly Downloads
30.1K
#22
to-spec
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You've already talked a feature through and want it written up as a spec.
It does:
Turns the conversation and the code into a spec, without interviewing you, and files it on your issue tracker.

type:command effect:remote needs:issue-tracker requirements issue-tracking

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
785K
#22
Weekly Downloads
31.2K
#14
research
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You need facts about an API, library or topic checked against their source, without stopping your work.
It does:
Starts a background agent that reads primary sources: official docs, source code, specs and first-party APIs.

type:workflow effect:local needs:subagents research docs-writing

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
783K
#23
Weekly Downloads
31K
#15
to-tickets
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You have a plan or spec and want it split into tickets agents can build one at a time.
It does:
Slices the work into thin end-to-end tickets, each naming the tickets that must finish first, and checks the split with you.

type:command effect:remote needs:issue-tracker planning issue-tracking

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
782K
#24
Weekly Downloads
31K
#16
wizard

Use it when:
A setup needs steps only you can do, such as copying API keys from dashboards or adding CI secrets.
It does:
Writes a bash script that walks you through each step: opens the page, says what to click, saves what you paste.

type:command effect:local needs:none infrastructure ci

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
615K
#27
Weekly Downloads
27K
#32
to-questionnaire

Use it when:
A decision hinges on knowledge someone else has, and you need to get it out of them.
It does:
Asks you who the recipient is and what you need back, then writes the questions for them.

type:command effect:local needs:none requirements

Age
3 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
560K
#28
Weekly Downloads
27.4K
#30
git-guardrails-claude-code

Use it when:
Claude Code runs shell commands for you and you don't want it able to push, or to throw away local work.
It does:
Installs a hook that stops git push, reset --hard, clean -f, branch -D, checkout . and restore . before they run.

type:setup effect:local needs:claude-code guardrails git security stack:git

Age
8 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
546K
#29
Weekly Downloads
20.6K
#36
writing-for-agents
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You're writing or editing a skill, an AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md, or any doc an agent reads.
It does:
Gives the agent principles for writing docs that agents follow the same way every run.

type:guidelines effect:none needs:none skill-authoring docs-writing writing

Age
3 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
535K
#30
Weekly Downloads
30.5K
#19
setup-pre-commit

Use it when:
You want every commit in a JavaScript or TypeScript repo formatted, type-checked and tested first.
It does:
Installs Husky, lint-staged and Prettier, and writes a pre-commit hook that formats staged files, then runs your type check and tests.

type:setup effect:local needs:none ci git stack:husky stack:git

Age
8 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
535K
#31
Weekly Downloads
20.5K
#38
writing-beats
Part of Writing workflow

Use it when:
You have a pile of notes and want a first draft.
It does:
Writes the article one section at a time, offering two or three next sections to pick from.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none writing

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
528K
#32
Weekly Downloads
20.4K
#40
writing-shape
Part of Writing workflow

Use it when:
You have a pile of notes and want a first draft.
It does:
Settles an opening with you, then builds the article one paragraph at a time.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none writing

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
528K
#33
Weekly Downloads
20.5K
#39
writing-fragments
Part of Writing workflow

Use it when:
You want to write an essay or article but don't know its shape yet.
It does:
Interviews you and saves every usable line, anecdote and idea to one Markdown file.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none writing interview

Age
6 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
527K
#34
Weekly Downloads
20.4K
#41
scaffold-exercises

Use it when:
You're adding a section or exercises to a course repo laid out like the author's AI Hero courses.
It does:
Turns a plan into numbered section and exercise folders, each with problem, solution or explainer subfolders.

type:workflow effect:local needs:cli learning

Age
7 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
525K
#35
Weekly Downloads
20.2K
#42
migrate-to-shoehorn

Use it when:
Your tests use `as` assertions to pass partial or deliberately wrong data to typed functions.
It does:
Installs shoehorn and replaces `as Type` with fromPartial() and `as unknown as Type` with fromAny() in your test files.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none by:official testing migration refactoring stack:typescript stack:shoehorn

Age
8 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
523K
#36
Weekly Downloads
20.2K
#43
wait-what

Use it when:
The agent's last message lost you.
It does:
Makes the agent explain it again, with some context first, in simplified English and your project's own terms.

type:command effect:none needs:none output-style

Age
3 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
511K
#37
Weekly Downloads
27.5K
#29
loop-me

Use it when:
You'd like to hand recurring work or routines to automation, but haven't pinned down how they should run.
It does:
Questions you round by round, each question with a recommended answer, until every routine is specified.

type:workflow effect:local needs:none interview requirements

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
486K
#42
Weekly Downloads
20.6K
#35
claude-handoff

Use it when:
The current conversation should continue in a fresh agent, starting right away.
It does:
Summarizes the conversation, then starts a background Claude Code agent with that summary as its prompt.

type:command effect:local needs:claude-code handoff multi-agent

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
468K
#43
Weekly Downloads
20.5K
#37
setup-ts-deep-modules

Use it when:
You want each package in a TypeScript repo used only through its entry files, enforced by a check.
It does:
Adds dependency-cruiser rules: outside code may import only a package's top-level files, never its subfolders, and imports may not form cycles.

type:setup effect:local needs:none architecture stack:typescript stack:dependency-cruiser

Age
4 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
413K
#52
Weekly Downloads
20.1K
#44
implement-spec
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
A spec has been split into tickets, and you want all of them built in parallel.
It does:
Puts a subagent on every ticket that's ready, each in its own git worktree, and merges their work as they finish.

type:workflow effect:remote needs:issue-tracker needs:subagents implementation multi-agent issue-tracking

Age
2 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
347K
#63
Weekly Downloads
27.8K
#26
retro
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
A coding session went badly or slowly and you want the next one to go better.
It does:
Reads that session's logs and looks for fixes to the agent's setup, not to the code it wrote.

type:workflow effect:none needs:none self-improvement skill-authoring

Age
2 months
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
340K
#64
Weekly Downloads
28.6K
#24
pr
Part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
The agent writes a pull request description and you want it short and visual, with no preamble.
It does:
Fills a three-part template: a summary drawn as the smallest visual that shows the change, before-and-after evidence, and the merge danger.

type:guidelines effect:none needs:none git code-review diagrams verification

Age
7 weeks
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
230K
#84
Weekly Downloads
27.8K
#28
chief-of-staff
Only works as part of Engineering workflow

Use it when:
You have a goal that will take many tasks and want one long session to manage it.
It does:
Makes the agent a coordinator that hands every task to a fresh background subagent and stays in conversation with you.

type:mode effect:remote needs:subagents needs:issue-tracker multi-agent memory agent-workflows self-improvement

Age
5 weeks
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
119K
top 11%
Weekly Downloads
20.9K
#33
software-factory

Use it when:
You're designing a software factory: a system of agents that turns tickets, PRs and schedules into merged code.
It does:
Fixes one vocabulary for the design, such as task, run, runner and orchestrator, and names the canonical term when you use another word.

type:guidelines effect:none needs:none agent-workflows multi-agent architecture issue-tracking

Age
8 days
Stars
319K
#3
Total Downloads
1
bottom 1%
Weekly Downloads
0
bottom 1%

ai-engineer-workshop-2026-project Project

Cadence, a course platform built with React Router, TypeScript, SQLite and Drizzle, used as the project of an AI-assisted development workshop.

1 skill

better-sqlite3-rebuild

Use it when:
better-sqlite3 fails to load in your Node.js project because it was compiled for a different Node.js version.
It does:
Runs npm rebuild, which rebuilds every native module of the project, without asking you, then retries what failed.

type:tool effect:local needs:none debugging build-tools stack:better-sqlite3 stack:nodejs stack:npm

Age
6 months
Stars
—
Total Downloads
134
bottom 1%
Weekly Downloads
8
bottom 6%

sandcastle Project

CLI for orchestrating AI agents in isolated sandbox environments

1 skill

pre-release

Use it when:
You're about to release a package that records its changes with Changesets.
It does:
Checks every file in .changeset and fixes what fails: only user-facing changes, related ones under one changeset, no implementation details.

type:command effect:local needs:none docs-writing stack:changesets

Age
6 months
Stars
—
Total Downloads
40
bottom 1%
Weekly Downloads
1
bottom 2%

ts-reset Project

A CSS reset for TypeScript, improving types for common JavaScript API's

1 skill

research-ts-decisions

Use it when:
You want to know why TypeScript types a built-in the way it does, as ts-reset's maintainers do before overriding one.
It does:
Searches microsoft/TypeScript's issues and PRs with gh for what the TypeScript team said, including changes that were tried and reverted.

type:workflow effect:none needs:cli research stack:typescript stack:github stack:ts-reset

Age
5 months
Stars
—
Total Downloads
25
bottom 1%
Weekly Downloads
2
bottom 3%